Page 120 of Hollywood

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah.” He drew a breath as if to say something more. Then he shook his head. “I love you, Hendrix.”

“I love you too.”

He brushed his thumb over my jaw. “You’re so much more than I deserve.”

“Not true. I?—

A knock at the door cut me off. Tex glanced over his shoulder. “Let me guess. It’sJoyride.”

“Yeah, I invited him over for a movie night. He’s still down since seeing Dakota, and I don’t want him to go off and do something reckless. You know how self-sabotage can be.”

“All too well,” Tex said grimly. “But you sound like Knight, trying to save us from ourselves.”

I shrugged. “It was his idea. We’re all on Joyride watch. Did you not read the chat between us and Ghost?”

“I might have ignored a few texts after he sent all those kissy-face emojis…”

I grinned.

Tex rolled his eyes. “You love it, don’t you?”

I held my fingers a millimeter apart. “Just a tiny bit.”

Joyride knocked again.

Tex swept past me to kiss Ruby goodbye, then pulled open the door. “Come in already. You don’t have to knock.”

Joyride stepped inside. “Really?”

“Well, not as long as we know you’re coming over. Maybe don’t barge in at 2 a.m. or anything.”

He smirked. “Got it.”

Tex threw me one last look, then went out the door. I frowned after him, sure I’d missed something. That comment about me being more than he deserved. What was that about?

Tex gave so much to me and Ruby. Too much, sometimes.

“Everything okay?” Joyride asked.

I blinked. “Hm. Yeah. Just zoned out.”

“Da!” Ruby held up her bunny. “Bob is tired.”

I snorted. It killed me that she’d named her bunnyBob, of all things. Maybe she’d been watching too much SpongeBob SquarePants the day she picked its name.

“Is Bob ready for bed?” I asked.

Ruby nodded. “I’m not tired, but Bob will be scared without me.”

“Well, we can’t have that.” I handed Joyride the remote then picked up Ruby. “Choose a movie. I’ll be back.”

“Sure.”

I carried her to her bedroom and put her down. Ruby crawled into bed, eyes already heavy. She’d turned out to be a great sleeper once she was more settled with us. A nightlight cast a warm glow over the room, and a baby monitor sat on the table beside her bed.

I switched it on. “Da will hear if you need anything, okay?”